Tuesday, September 16, 2003

Last night Wendell and I sat and watched "Bowling for Columbine." I think everyone should watch this movie. His basic point seems to me is that Americans live in fear of each other.

Throughout the movie last night I was reminded by a routine by George Carlin where he talks about the rhetoric used by Americans when we attempting to fix a situation. He points out that we have a war on cancer, a war on drugs and a war on poverty. We can't simply attempt to eradicate cancer, get drugs off of our streets and end poverty. We have to have a war on these problems.

This then points directly at our bogus war on terrorism. It's not enough to simply end terrorism. It's unthinkable to even consider changing the climate that breeds terrorism. No, we have to wage war on it and crush it. If we don't do that then we haven't won. Victory does not come from creating a safer world. Victory comes from making the world more dangerous while we flail around killing people.

I think the movie's most poignant moment comes with a cut to the current president after a portrayal of poverty in America and the lack of poverty in Canada. What is our president doing? He's standing in front of a bunch of soldiers. He dressed in a flight jacket and he's demanding that congress make the military budget their number one goal. Happy Days. Nothing will make things better than making our military bigger. Yummy, I can taste the peace and prosperity. It's like a cooling apple pie around the corner. Of course the pie is inaccessbile to me. Between me and the pie is an electrified fence and a private security company. But I feel safer.